Fanfic 100 Challenge: Speed
by dytabytes
Summary: A series of 100 word ficlets based around Tommy 'Speed' Shepard of the Young Avengers.
1. Stupid

Prompt: 67. Snow  
Word Count: 311  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Tommy hates winter.

Stupid

It was one of those cold winter days where there wasn't too much snow on the ground, but the air itself was still frigid. There had been a warm snap a few days ago which hadn't succeeded in doing anything except melting the snow into sludge, and covering the streets with black ice. Stupid ice. It was just so hard to _see_.

It was _hell_ to run on that kind of slick surface. Oh sure, Tommy was a speedster. He went fast, faster than anyone else in the world. It didn't stop him from tripping when he slipped on ice, and went over the curb. Stupid curbs. Always right there when he was about to stop skidding.

No one would notice if Tommy fell on his ass, because he'd fall and pick himself up again before they could even blink, but... well ... it still _hurt_. And even though his costume wouldn't tear, the wetness of it all was annoying. His palms, his knees, his back, everywhere was damp and clammy and the moisture stuck just underneath his clothes where it wouldn't dry away. Stupid costume. Kept all the water in all the wrong places. And then it started to _chafe_. The _horror_.

Alright, so Kate said that the speed of his running should evaporate all the wetness off, and that he was just imagining the chafing, because it wasn't happening. And Vision agreed with her. It didn't make him feel any better, because he knew that his suit was covered in growing patches of wet, and everything itched, and why couldn't the stupid winter just _end_ already?

But it wouldn't, and now it had started snowing, and fat white clumps of ice were falling from the sky. And they would whirl around in the air in an 'elegant waltz of grace and light' if you were to believe Cassie. But Cassie was a romantic. Tommy knew what would happen. Those innocent little bits of fluff would pile up and dust the ground and make it even harder to avoid the _stupid ice_.

Stupid snow.

Stupid winter.

Stupid Kate for making him join in the hope that he could blow things up and get some nookie too.

Stupid Tommy for believing her.


	2. Failure

Prompt: 34. Not Enough  
Word Count: 450  
Rating: R  
Summary: Tommy explains something to Eli.  
Author's Note: This is a raw stream of consciousness/one-sided conversation sort of thing, so please think of it as a kind of experiment, and excuse me if it's incoherent, and if the ending's not satisfactory. I promise I'll try to do better next time.

Failure

Look, whenever I try to do something, I _always_ fail. It's because I'm not good enough.

I've always tried to believe that it wasn't true. Tried to believe that I was just being crazy, that I could do anything if I worked hard enough. I started thinking that maybe, just maybe, this whole Young Avengers thing would last.

The way I pictured it, we'd grow up, maybe become the Not-So-Young Avengers. Cassie and Vision would finally give in and screw each other silly. My not!twin and his boyfriend would settle down and adopt a bazillion kids. You and Kate would keep leading us in the Fight for Justice with Capital Letters of Importance and Necessity. I mean, c'mon. We were teenage heroes. We could reach for perfection, and hold it to ourselves without breaking it because that's what heroes do.

Tch, don't look at me like that. We both know that capitals are _always_ applied to those words. It's hero thing. But you're pulling me off topic.

What I'm _trying_ to say is that heroes always win. They always succeed. They run into the burning building, save the beautiful woman and her baby and they never _ever_ let anyone die.

And we can both agree that I'm not a hero.

_Explain?_ Are you _that_ thick?

I. Fucked. Up.

No, _you_ listen to me, okay? I'm not _done_ yet.

I thought that I could be good enough, _fast_ enough to do _anything_. If it needed to be done, I was the hero you'd turn to. I'd get you the maiden, the baby, the _cat_, and the _goddamned kitchen sink_, and all that in five seconds flat. That's what I thought.

But the bomb went off, and the building collapsed, and _I couldn't get everyone out_. I wasn't fast enough to get everyone out that building before it fell.

So tell me: if a hero fails to save his people, is he still a hero?

No, of _course_ you don't have the answer. No one does.

Look, it looks like you don't get what I'm saying, so I'll spell it out for you. Speed _died_ in that building. The spandex-clad motormouth of the Young Avengers got buried in the rubble, and he's not coming back until I can figure out stuff.

What's stuff? Stuff is ... stuff is whether or not I wanna risk my life for people who hate me. Whether I'm willing to give up college. Whether I can stomach having my friends throw themselves at danger and only make it out some of the time. Whether I'll ever be enough of a hero at heart to stop regretting what I could have _had_ if I left.


	3. An Argument

**Prompt:** 27. Parents  
**Word Count:** 432  
**Rating:** G  
**Summary:** Tommy and the Cap don't see eye to eye. Kate gets her snark on.  
**Author's Notes:** This was originally supposed to be conversation between Tommy and Captain America. It was going to be hear-warming and full of glowy parental feelings. Then Tommy blew a raspberry at that whole idea, and went on his own IC tangent. At that point, I said screw it, and Kate got dragged into the mix too because she is sharp-witted!love. That is all.

An Argument

"Please?"

The man known as Captain America looked over at his young charge with exasperation. Heroes like himself rarely had the time to do mundane things like weed the garden, or write a novel, and he had been reading the morning paper for the first time in _months_ when Tommy had interrupted him about this petty little matter.

"No."

"But-!"

"No, Tommy. I said NO."

The Cap said this with a sense of finality and turned back to his morning paper.

Tommy looked down for a moment. When his face turned back up, it sported huge limpid pools of dewy tears, which gazed out from beneath locks of scruffy silver hair. The boy's bottom lip that was quivering just so, and he whimpered ever so slightly, wringing his hands in a timid, distressed sort of way.

"_Pwease?_"

The effect was so terrifyingly adorable that it could drop a WWF wrestler at 100 paces.

The Cap simply gave Tommy a glance, then turned back to his paper and flipped to the next page.

"Cassie won't appreciate the fact that you're using her contact solution to make fake tears. Anyway, your mo-Wan-The Scarlet Witch was much better at that look than you are because of time, experience, and the fact that she is a petite woman. I've developed an immunity."

A pause.

"And the answer is _still_ no, in case you were wondering."

Tommy wiped his eyes clear of liquid and scowled at his 'adult supervisor'. He stamped his foot and crossed his arms and was about to say something rather rude when he was cut off.

"No, I'm not being unfair, nor am I being a tyrant. I'm your supervisor and temporary guardian, and contrary to popular belief, I know what I'm doing."

Captain America looked at Tommy sideways for a moment.

"And throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the kitchen isn't going to make you look any more mature. What _might_ help, though, is if you do the dishes. I'm sure your teammates would appreciate it."

Tommy blinked.

Then he stared.

Then he blinked a little bit more.

Finally, he threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Fine, _DAD!_"

With that, he stomped away at 'normal speed' in order to let the rest of the house register his teenage rage against the world.

Hidden behind his paper, Captain America smiled. Tommy could be such a drama queen sometimes.

A feminine voice drawled, "Does that mean that we have to call Mr. Stark "Momma" now?"

Kate smirked, then sashayed by as 'Dad' choked quietly on his coffee.


	4. The First Kisses

**Prompt:** 39. Taste  
**Word Count:** 385  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Eli was having a very good day.

The First Kisses

Eli was having a very good day. The war was over, his latest test had come back with an A, and Kate had just been on a date with him.

They'd gone to dinner and a movie. It had been a surprisingly normal affair. There hadn't been any villains popping out of the woodwork. There hadn't been any mutant lynchings. There hadn't even been any pointless mass destruction of property. Instead, Eli had managed not to get tomato sauce on his clothes at dinner and later convinced Kate to let him pay for the movie tickets if she'd pick up the tab for the popcorn in exchange.

When they had gotten back to the Avengers headquarters, Eli had walked Kate to her room and bid her goodnight. Standing in front of her door, she had smiled that enigmatic smile of hers, the one that made her dimple just _so_, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

_"You've forgotten the best part."_

At that, she had pulled him down and kissed him soundly before slipping into her room.

_"We'll have to do this again sometime, prince charming."_

And now he was staring at her door.

Had anyone been watching at that particular moment, they would have seen the usually stoic Patriot sigh as dreamily as a love-sick pre-teen school girl.

As he made his way to his room, Eli's lips tingled. The boy touched his fingers to his mouth and grinned.

_I must be the luckiest guy in the world._

Tommy slammed the door of his room shut, and leaned against it for a moment, trying to catch his breath. He was gasping for air and fighting to keep tears from leaking out of his eyes.

_I will not cry. I. Will. Not. __**Cry**_

He licked his lips, then moaned and let gravity pull him down to the floor.

_Cherries. Kate's lipgloss tastes like cherries. I just kissed Eli because Kate just kissed Eli, and Kate's lipgloss tastes like cherries. Why does it have to taste like cherries? Why couldn't she taste like, I don't know, __**beets**__, or something?_

Looking up at the ceiling, the boy raised his hands into the air and wailed, "Why?!"

Feeling drained, all of a sudden, Tommy cradled his head in his hands, and whispered, "It should have been **me**."


	5. Making the Best of Things

**Prompt:** 23. Lovers  
**Word Count:** 351  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Tommy's not jealous.  
**Author's Notes:** Sequel to The First Kisses.

Making the Best of Things

Alright, so Eli and Kate were a couple. Tommy could deal. Totally. He wasn't going to go on some mad rampage across the city just because his friend teammate was dating the girl that he loved liked. Because it wasn't like anyone else had known, and the two were good for each other. Really.

Okay, so Eli still had a stick up his ass, and Kate was perfect to begin with, but they focussed more on each other now, which meant that they focussed less on Tommy. And everyone knows that, while the cats are away, the mouse will play.

"Mm, right there..."

Kate wriggled happily from her seat on the kitchen counter. Alright, so they really shouldn't have been making out in the kitchen, but it was Saturday morning, and everyone else would still be asleep, so they wouldn't disturb anyo-

Fwip.

Eli frowned in annoyance and reached down the back of his collar.

"Somthing just flew down my-"

Fwip fwip fwip.

"Wha?"

Kate delicately reached over to grab one of the new objects on the counter just as Eli finished fishing around in his shirt. Their eyes met, and Eli turned towards the kitchen door just as Tommy let go of the object that he was slingshotting.

Fwip.

Whether by aim or pure luck, the condom hit Eli on the face before it flopped onto the ground, leaving a smeared circle of lube on the boy's cheek.

Eli slowly wiped his face off, then met Tommy's eyes.

"What. The. Hell."

"Just thought that I'd make sure you two had protection handy! We don't need any Mini Avengers running about, now do we?!"

"_I'M GONNA KILL YOU!_"

Eli roared and started towards Tommy, but the speedster had already made a slightly rude gesture and run away, cackling wildly.

That morning as the team woke up to cries of "They'll never find the body!" and "Gotta catch me first!", Kate rubbed at the crease between her eyebrows, then muttered to herself in disgust.

"_Men._"

Then she set about to cleaning up the condoms. Well _somebody_ had to do it, right?


	6. Pros and Cons

**Prompt:** 82. If  
**Word Count:** 300 411  
**Rating:** G  
**Summary:** Tommy thinks he might not mind having Billy for a brother.

**Edited:** Word count is now 411, and I tried to fix up the tenses. Go me?

Pros and Cons

Tommy didn't really believe that he was related to Billy, but he was thinking maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing if he was. Sure, the guy was a little nerdy and, alright, so he wore a _cape_, but Tommy could forgive that.

For one, if they were twins, Tommy could stop thinking about why he and Billy looked so similar. After all, there's no way that they could look this much alike naturally, unless his mom had sex with Billy's dad way ba-no, we're not going to go there because thinking of your parents having sex is just. EW.

Anyway, it also wouldn't be too bad to have Billy for a twin because that'd mean that Tommy wouldn't be so alone anymore. After all, he'd sorta been kicked out of his family after the whole 'Oh noes, you blew up the school' thing, and even if he hadn't, he wouldn't be going home by choice. The only person worth going home for would be Gran and they'd buried her a couple years ago. Most people would think that was a bad thing, but Tommy figured that she'd be able to dance again now, and he wouldn't need to go home to talk to her, since she could hear him from Heaven just fine.

But it's not much of a conversation when the other person can't talk back, now is it?

Yes, having someone living to talk to would be good. Alright, he and Billy couldn't really talk about girls for obvious reasons, but there were always sports and video games. And maybe Billy wouldn't mind sharing his mom every now and then so that Tommy could figure out what real parents were supposed to do? That would be really super cool of him, and he already shared her with a bunch of other brothers. That settled it. Billy definitely wouldn't mind if Tommy cut in every now and then to share the love.

So Tommy decided that he could handle being Billy's twin if they were really twins, because it wouldn't be so bad having a geeky younger brother (Billy was obviously the younger one so that Tommy could lord it over him all the time).

And, of course, one of the _biggest_ reasons why it'd be cool to be related to Billy was that, if they were related? Billy'd be honour bound to step in when Eli realises that Tommy just filled his boots with shaving cream.


	7. Hot in the Desert Sun

**Prompt:** 75. Shade  
**Word Count:** 567  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** _Kate personally couldn't imagine how human life could have sprung up from under the scorching sun that blazed down onto the heated sands._

Hot in the Desert Sun

Kate sighed and shook her head, smiling. It was funny how things turned out sometimes.

The Avengers had been working as peacekeepers in the Middle East, re-uniting the war-torn country with peace and negotiation where brute force had failed. They'd been gone for just over a week when the Cap had called, asking for help from his team of teenage heroes.

Eli had bundled them all off immediately as soon as he realized that this was a request from Cap, and now they were here, in the middle of a crumbling village complete with hostile glares, culture shock, and a heck of a language barrier.

_It's incredible what kind of places people are able to live in._

Kate personally couldn't imagine how human life could have sprung up from under the scorching sun that blazed down onto the heated sands. Certainly the team was feeling the heat. Heck, even cool-headed Eli and cheery Cassie were getting snappy. Granted, a full-body costume didn't ever breathe as well as bared skin.

_I'm grateful for my choice of costume now, no matter how cold I get at home..._

Still, if Eli and Cassie were feeling a little toasty, Billy was practically boiling to death. He was, after all, wearing black from head to toe and he had a _cape_ on top of that. Sweat had matted the witch-boy's hair down, and his face was decidedly shiny, no matter how much he wiped his brow on the back of his gloves. Kate was amused to see that Teddy had shifted to make his shadow larger, trying to protect his wilting boyfriend the only way he could. He, himself, didn't seem to have as much problem with the heat.

_Damn aliens and their unnaturally tolerant constitutions._

Actually, come to think of it, Vision wasn't feeling the heat either. His sensors could pick up that the temperature was high, of course, but it would take a lot more to stop him from functioning. His cooling system, as he had informed the rest of them, was top-of-the-line.

Kate muttered obscenitites under her breath as she walked towards the village centre, looking for the last member of the team. She hadn't seen how Tommy had adjusted to the desert weather, although she was sure that he would be the crankiest of all. After all, with that high metabolism, he must be overheating like no one else.

_I'm not looking forward to dealing with more whining right now._

She found Tommy in the town square in the middle of a mass of screaming children.

"Hey, no fair! Not all of you at once!"

The speedster was waving his hands comically, and crying for mercy in an exaggerated fashion. He had children clinging to his legs and climbing up his back. He was laughing.

"Agh! Not the hair! Not the hair!"

Kate smiled to herself. Of all the things she had expected Tommy to be doing, this was not it. She waved, and Tommy's head snapped towards her.

"Oh, hey Ka-Hawkeye! Meeting?"

When she nodded an affirmative, Tommy blurred, and a blur of green and white started dislodging children and whooshing them off to the side of the square, presumably back to their mothers. Then, Tommy re-appeared before Kate with a snap. He grinned and asked, "So, we going?"

Kate smirked in return. Maybe this trip wouldn't be such a bad experience after all.

"Of course."


	8. A Night at the Museum

**Prompt:** 28. Children  
**Word Count:** 449  
**Rating:** G  
**Summary:** Tommy's easily swayed when it comes to his nephew.  
**Author's Notes:** **traindiskense**'s comments inspired this ficlet. So blame her for it XD. The plot bunny came up and bit me on the rear grumbles Frankie, the OC, is the child of Wiccan and Hulkling who is entirely of my own making.

A Night at the Museum

"I wanna see the dinosaurs Unca Tommy!"

"Uh, okay, where's your book again?"

Tommy zipped around the room, found the book, and was triumphantly brandishing it before Frankie Altman-Kaplan frowned at him and said, "No, I wanna see the _real_ fau-fossilized ones!"

Tommy was stricken for a moment. He wasn't supposed to take his nephew out, because the last time he'd done that, he'd ended up being tag-team lectured by his twin and his twin's husband for over an hour.

But this was _educational_, right? And it's not like they were going too far away. No more than 5 seconds or so of running, even if Tommy went at a relaxed sort of pace.

Tommy grinned. He was such a bad uncle.

"Gimmee a sec to get the directions and we'll head straight downtown to the museum then!"

He knew he shouldn't give in to Frankie's every desire, but the kid was just so ... so cute!

"But! But! I want to see the dinosaurs from HERE!!"

The five-year-old waved a newspaper article at Tommy. It depicted an exhibit where the artfully arranged skeletons of a T-Rex and a Stegosaurus appeared to be battling each other. It also noted that the display was located at a prominent museum in China.

And Tommy would _really_ have said no, but Frankie had aimed those big brown eyes at him, and his lip quivered, and what could it hurt to go a little farther to get to the right museum? A couple minutes extra of running distance wouldn't matter much.

So even though it was 2 in the morning over there and the museum was obviously closed, Tommy picked his nephew up and held him securely in his arms. He whispered into the child's ear, grinning.

"Okay Frankie, sit tight and don't squirm, otherwise I might drop ya in the ocean."

Frankie giggled, and by the time he stopped, they were at the museum running through the doors and vibrating at just the right speed to slip past the view of the cameras. Light had to hit molecules to bounce off them, after all.

Tommy 'walked' with his adoring nephew through the dinosaur exhibit, telling him about all the things he had leaned picoseconds before from the exhibit walls and making sure that he never let go of the hand held in his own. And if maybe he let Frankie lean in and pet the bones of the T-Rex for a brief moment, what would it hurt? The joyful expression on his nephew's face more than made up for any guilt that Tommy might have felt about breaking The Rules.


	9. A OneSided Conversation

**Word Count:** 668  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Tommy goes home to visit someone important to him.  
**Author's Note:** If you can figure out the importance behind the important person's name, I'll write you a drabble. Offer applies to the first 3 people, so go to it!

A One-Sided Conversation

It had been a while since Tommy had been 'home'.

The neighbourhood was remarkably unchanged. It was filled with small well-kept houses and white picket fences and the unmistakable scent of crocuses filled the warm almost-spring air. Tommy paused for just a moment and inhaled deeply. There were so many memories here.

If he closed his eyes he could fool himself into believing that he was eight years old again, listening to Gram tell stories. She'd talk about the old days, or his grandfather, or one of millions of other things because Gram had known everything there was to know about everything. She'd sit him down at the kitchen table with a glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies, then she'd take her place at the chair across from him and she'd smile and talk. Sometimes Gram would steal a cookie from his plate, munching thoughtfully as she spun her tales. Other times, she would trail off at the end of a story and look off into the distance while her hands wrapped in the ends of her omnipresent lavender shawl. She had told him stories about that piece of fabric, but he couldn't remember much more than that it had been important to her...

But Tommy wasn't here to go on trips down memory lane anyway. He had a purpose and he needed to be home before Mister 'I'm-Too-Good-To-Sleep-In' Patriot got up for his morning jog.

Tommy dashed across the town, careful to keep quiet within the shadows. The grass whiffled softly in his wake and continued to do so for a few moments after he had stopped at the top of a small knoll. He leaned over slightly and squinted at the tombstones that sprouted from the ground, searching for one in particular.

"Where, where, where... oh."

He stopped and fell to his knees in front of a modest granite cross. Tommy caressed it softly with the back of his right hand, then whispered,

"Guess you finally went to join Grampa, huh Gram? You always said that you regretted leaving him, so you must be thrilled to be together again."

He gazed up at the half-moon which hovered shyly behind a cloud.

"What's it like up there? I bet you're havin' a ball up in Heaven, rubbin' elbows with all the saints an' stuff like that."

Tommy rocked on the balls of his heels awkwardly.

"Hey, if you meet him, say 'Hi' to the Cap for me, wouldja? I never told him, but he wasn't such a bad guy. Did his best to keep us in line an' protect the country an' all that jazz, an' mosta the time he didn't do such a bad job. I woulda told him myself, but I... I never had the guts to tell him. Too chickenshit."

Tommy smirked, but one side of his mouth wavered unhappily.

"Yeah, I know I shouldn't be swearing, but I've been livin' at the Avengers mansion with Stark breathin' down my neck all the time. The alchy's a bad role model, 'specially when he's got his hands on a mickey of Grey Goose. I-"

Tommy was cut off when the watch on his wrist clicked and started to vibrate. Muttering under his breath, he fiddled with it until it stopped.

"I gotta go, Gram, but I'll be back, okay? I promise."

He got up with a small grunt, then frowned. A rush of wind whispered through the cemetery. After a brief pause, a second gusted through. When it died down, a small bundle was arranged neatly at the foot of the stone. Tommy nodded in self-congratulations and dashed off to his bed. He'd be a little late, but if he sped up just a little, he'd make up the lost time.

As the sun rose over a small cemetery in Springfield, it seemed to smile brightly at the hastily gathered bouquet of brilliantly purple crocuses that honoured Magda Smith, a wife and mother whose love for her children knew no bounds.


	10. A Snapshot in Time

**Prompt:** 061. Winter  
**Word Count:** 282  
**Rating:** G  
**Summary:** A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are some of the words behind a particular picture...  
**Author's Note:** I'm trying to write up some of my personal canon for Tommy in fic form while playing with my writing style. Please bear with me, yes?

A Snapshot in Time

On a cold winter day, a dark-haired boy streaks down a snowy path with the laces of his skates clutched in his hand. A laughing young girl follows close behind, her black pigtails flying carelessly behind her like streamers from a jet-plane.

"It's cold."

Tracy sighed with the ever-lasting patience of a six-year-old explaining things.

"Duh, Tommy. 'Course it's cold! It's gotta be or else the ice wouldn't have frozen, an' then we'd be swimmin' instead of skating!"

Tommy pouted in that way of his which left him looking young and downtrodden and altogether, rather pitiful.

"I hate it when it's cold, Ace. It makes my nose all runny and stuffy. I wanna go home."

Ace crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well you're a stupid-head!"

Tommy's eyes widened in shock.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not! Am not!"

"Are too! Are too! Are too!"

All of a sudden a deep voice hollered across the frozen lake.

"Hey kids! We're playin' hockey now, git outta here!"

The two children stopped, standing in silence on the edge of the lake. After a moment, Ace threw her hands up in the air in dramatic despair.

"Whatever! Let's go home an' play pirates!"

Tommy nodded agreeably. Pirates was much more fun than slipping around on ice and getting your bum wet from falling too much.

"Race ya home!" he shouted, before she could change her mind, and the young brunette tore off down the lakeshore even before he heard the giggled "You're on!" that followed.

In the future, Tommy wouldn't remember who won, but would agree that the hot chocolate afterwards was warm and full of marshmallows.


	11. Escape

**Prompt:** 037. Sound.  
**Word Count:** 510  
**Rating:** PG-13 (Mild slash)  
**Summary:** Where's Tommy gone during the Initiative?  
**Author's Note:** This'll be AU as soon as Tommy shows up in Civil War-era Marvel, but until then, here's my take on why he's MIA so far.

Escape

Tommy crept silently through the SHIELD complex, flickering tentatively from shadow to shadow in the silence. It wouldn't do to set off the motion detectors in the super-human security system, but he had to get out of here. Fast.

_Psst! Tommy!_

The harsh whisper shocked Tommy so much that he froze in panic, jerking his head about wildly to find the source of the voice.

_Hey! Stop freaking out, it's Billy!_

Tommy calmed considerably, but suspiciously murmured, "Where are you?"

_I'm in my room using a communication spell. Teddy's here with me too._

Snorting, Tommy sarcastically muttered under his breath, "So what does make-out time have to do with scaring me outta my freakin' wits?"

An equally snarky voice echoed in the speedster's ears. _Well, Teddy's a bit of an exhibitionist..._ A dry chuckle. _Actually, we just wanted to wish you luck. __**We**__ like it here, but, uh, with your condition-"_

Tommy rolled his eyes and cut Billy off, "You mean my total inability to work with the military-types after they tried to cut me up and turn me into a weapon before, right?"

"... Sorry."

_No prob. It's fine._

"Those weren't the best times of my life, ya know? And skulking around in the shadows out here isn't exactly helping the mood."

_Yeah... Look, we just wanted to let you know that we support your decision to leave and that we won't rat you out to Mr. Stark. I've got the security, so if you run at top speed, you should be able to make it to Canada by morning, I think._

A thoughtful pause.

"Thanks Billy."

_Hey, __**you**__ might not believe it, but in my mind, we're twins, right? And Mom always told me to put family first._

Tommy smirked. "Sure, whatever you say, weirdo. I'll e-mail you when I get where I'm going, 'kay?"

_That'd be good. By the way, it's winter up there, so you might want to get some warmer clothes. Spandex isn't exactly the best thing for insulation._

"Nah, don't worry 'bout that. I've got the whole 'splodey thing goin' on, right? But I'll prob'ly try travelling on the rivers some... It'll be faster, and I always did like skating."

_... Stay safe, twin._

"See ya later ... twin."

In his room, Billy blinked in shock at that last phrase. It had been throw in just as the magical connection had broken, and he hadn't had time to respond.

Before he could try to re-connect with Tommy, a warm pair of arms caught the spell-caster up in an embrace and a low voice rumbled, "Is Tommy okay, then?"

Billy smiled and looked up at Teddy. "Yeah, he'll be in Canada soon, I think."

"Mmm, good. Then maybe you could stop worrying about him and start worrying about me?" The blonde had started dropping kisses down Billy's neck. The brunette laughed and turned his full attention back to Teddy. He could worry more about his twin tomorrow, but the sharp teeth nipping their way down his abs required his more ... immediate attention.


	12. Birthday Suprises

**Prompt:** 76. Who?  
**Word Count:** 234  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** Tommy had turned 18 that morning.

**Author's Notes:** I've been writing too much angst, and I need to get in the mood to write smut because I'm way past my deadline. Therefore, I write not!smut for Tommy. The unknown is a true fill-in-the-blank. Who do _you_ ship Tommy with? I personally don't ship him with anyone at all...

Tommy had turned 18 yesterday. There had been a party, and presents, and other fun things, but Tommy wouldn't really remember that. After all, they'd managed to break into the liquor cabinet, and when you give alcohol to a bunch of rowdy almost-adults... well. Things happen.

The next morning, Tommy had been pretty grateful for his metabolism. Not only was he the only one without a hangover, but he'd gotten some killer photo ops. He'd have blackmail fodder for _years_ to come as long as he could hide the negatives.

Yes, the morning after would definitely be remembered, but the actual party? Not so much. In Tommy's head, the memories blurred and melded into a foggy mess, because that's what memories do. Let's face it, the lychee vodka didn't help either, although Tommy can remember that it tasted mighty nice on someone's lips.

Actually, now that he considered it, that's the only thing that Tommy truly remembers from his birthday party. He'd been doing ... something ... when all of a sudden he'd been crushed into the wall with someone's lips smashed against his, and it had been the hottest thing he'd ever experienced in all of his eighteen years.

It had been drunken and fumbling and _perfect_, and he could not for the life of him remember _who_ had kissed him.

To tell the truth, he was glad. He didn't really want to know.


	13. Electric Six

Prompt: 038. Touch.  
Word Count: 249  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Stag nights are fun. Then Tommy gets involved and they just get crazy.

Electric Six

Three boys stood awkwardly at the outside of Club Electric Six, shuffling their feet and glancing at the doorway every other moment.

"You first. "No, you." "No, really, it's okay." "Are you-"

"GODDAMNIT PEOPLE." Tommy Shepherd huffed and stomped his foot. "Are we men or not?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Hey, it wasn't my idea to do this-"

"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap oh noble leader man. It's your _stag night_. We've gotta get your beer and strippers! It's tradition!"

Eli looked over at the third member of the group with a pleading look.

"To be truthful, popular culture does seem to insist that this sort of thing is the norm in terms of bachelor parties, Eli."

Vision shrugged helplessly, running a hand through his holographically created hair as Tommy crowed and slung an arm about the shoulders of both of his friends.

"Okay then! In we go!"

With that, he manhandled his two embarrassed friends into the club.

The combination of embarrassment, pre-wedding jitters and an urgent need to get drunk asap was the only explaination for why it took the three of them an hour to figure out that the club was full of drag queens. Even then, they only realized when Tommy tried to cop a feel under a sexy nurse's skirt and was greeted by a much firmer bulge than he was used to.

It is the image of Tommy's face at that exact moment that made the entire night worth it. Vision still displays it as his desktop wallpaper when he's feeling down.


	14. On Time

Prompt: 079. When?  
Word Count: 204  
Rating: G  
Summary: _Tommy Shepard is consistently late._

On Time

Tommy Shepard is consistently late. It doesn't matter when or where or why he has to be somewhere, he simply always arrives five minutes after the deadline. _(Because that's the perfect balance between timely and noticeably not.)_

It's not because he's easily distracted. Even though Tommy's speed warps his perception of time, he always sets the beeper in his ear-phone to warn him of his appointments. _(Not that he'd ever tell anyone that because that'd just be awkward.)_ It's also not because he wants to be an annoyance, since a five-minute delay has never been a problem. _(After all, Tommy and Speed are two totally separate people, right?)_ No, the reason why Tommy is always late is simple: he hates waiting.

Waiting is a waste of time. Waiting is an eternity of wondering when the next person's going to arrive. Most of all, waiting is lonely and Tommy has had enough loneliness, thank you very much. _(He's also had enough of being ignored and he'd _never_ needed any of that being poked with needles business.)_ He'd much rather arrive just after the first person has and work from there. Things are more fun that way. _(It's not as if anyone's noticed yet.)_


	15. Morality

Prompt: 045. Family  
Word Count: 440  
Rating: PG for no particular reason  
Summary: _What they're doing... it's not exactly wrong, but it's not right either._  
Author's Notes: Written for supernaturalsue on LJ as a prize. I don't generally like incest (in fact, it mostly disgusts me), but the symmetry and narcissism of twincest has always interested me. Who knows, I might write more on this pairing.

Morality

Billy rolls onto his side and brushes a lock of white hair off of his lover's face. For someone so active when he's awake, Tommy is surprisingly still in sleep, especially when compared to Teddy, whose restless movement had once flung Billy's bedside lamp into the wall.

Billy rests his head on his right hand, digging his elbow into the pillow so that he can get a better view of Tommy's face in the moonlight. Its features are so similar to his own. Maybe they were fated to come together like this. After all, they are opposing forces housed in identical bodies. Dark and light, soft and loud, mystical and physical, all those and more come together into a whole when they join. Some might think that their differences would drive them apart, but it's identical poles which repel each other. Opposites attract.

Billy frowns as his thoughts slip over to play devil's advocate. What they're doing... it's not exactly wrong, but it's not right either. It's because of their similarities, because they look so much like twins even though they don't have any common ancestry. They're too similar to Wanda's children, so what they have is almost incest and mostly twisted and maybe hopeful but Billy doesn't think it ever will be.

Billy sighs and Tommy stirs. Green eyes that have less gold than Teddy's but much more animation open slowly, framed by translucently white lashes. For a moment, Billy is caught by the beauty of the sight before him. Then Tommy rolls onto his side to face Billy and his husky rumble sounds, shocking the teenage witch back to reality.

"Whas'a matter? 'S sleep-time, ya weirdo."

Billy pauses, then murmurs into his lover's _(brother's?)_ ear.

"Is what we're doing... is it right?"

Tommy levels a sleepy smile at his boyfriend. He looks puppyish and fluffy, although Billy will never tell him that.

"Well, it feels right, don't it?"

Tommy flops onto his back while Billy blinks, shocked into silence. Before he can speak, though, Tommy tilts his head so that he can give his lover an amused leer.

"'sides, 'f what we're doin's wrong, I dun wanna be right. Now go ta sleep, 's late 'n the world'll need savin' tomorrow."

Tommy shifts a little to get comfortable, then he stills and his breathing slows.

Billy laughs softly as he watches the pale boy settle back into sleep. Though it was cliche, Tommy's line soothed Billy's troubled mind. After all, it mirrored his own subconscious thoughts perfectly.

Contented, the dark-haired boy lets his head fall back onto his pillow. He dreams of damnation and he smiles.


	16. Growing Pains

Prompt: 005. Outsides.  
Word Count: 550  
Rating: G, although it's angsty  
Summary: Don't ever give Mary Shepard attitude, especially if you're her son Tommy.

Growing Pains

"Thomas Shepard, what did you do to your hair?"

Mary Shepard stood in the doorway of her kitchen looking like the very picture of an upset American housewife. Her brow furrowed and her hands were set firmly on her hips as she frowned at her thirteen-year-old son. The boy gave her a guilty look. The foot that had been on the first step of the stairs was slowly removed.

"I didn't do anything to it, Mom, not really."

Mary's frown deepened.

"Last I heard, you had hair the same colour as mine." She gestured to the wavy brown hair that framed her face and fell to kiss the tops of her shoulders. "Brown hair not good enough for you?"

"That's not it Mom!" Thomas snapped, scowling back at his mother. "It's not like I wa- I just like it his way, okay? Now leave me alone!"

With that, the boy stormed up the stairs to his room, dragging his knapsack along with him.

Mary shouted, "Don't give me that lip, young man!", but the only response was silence. She rolled her eyes and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Mary didn't have the strength of heart to deal with her son's attitude right now. She'd let his father deal with it when he returned home. Only the Lord knew why any self-respecting person would want to go grey before they absolutely had to.

"Dear, whatever is the matter?"

An elderly lady slowly made her way into the front hall with a quizzical look on her face. She was dressed conservatively, wearing the obligatory cardigan-and-slippers combination of all kindly grandmothers, but the twinkle of light in her bright green eyes belied a sharpness of wit that was un-dulled by age. Never let it be said that Gram Cooper was just a senile old lady.

Mary Shepard sighed and turned to her mother.

"Tommy's acting up again, Ma."

Mary started wringing her hands nervously. "He used to be a good kid, my baby boy, but now he's coming home with bad grades and an attitude problem and- and holes burned into the soles of his sneakers! Just when I thought he couldn't get any worse, he comes home with white hair! Can you believe it? WHITE!"

The worried woman threw her hands in the air, at a loss as to what to do next.

"I just don't know what to with him anymore!"

Gram leaned forward and pulled her daughter into a warm embrace and rubbed her back gently. Who knows how long they stood in that position, an age old scenario of a mother comforting her child.

"Shh. There, there, don't fret. I'm sure whatever's bothering him will end soon, dear. "

Mary let her forehead rest on her mother's shoulder, letting her tears soak into the soft wool of the cardigan, then she sniffled loudly.

"I hope it does, Ma. I just want everything to be the way it was."

Although her agonized murmur was muffled, it carried all the way up the stairs to where Tommy sat blinking away tears.

"Sorry, Mom. I want everything to be the way it was too."

That husky, longing whisper was followed by a rush of wind and a carefully closed door. Neither of the women downstairs noticed either sound.


	17. Home is a Four Letter Word

Prompt: 090. Home  
Word Count: 579  
Rating: PG for a little swearing  
Summary: Tommy pretends that he hasn't seen his parents ever since he blew up his high school. Tommy is lying.

Home is a Four-Letter Word

After Tony Stark has effectively killed the Young Avengers, Tommy leaves before the power-obsessed man can string up its corpse and make it dance. Let Eli and Kate and the rest of the responsible ones deal with that sort of thing. Tommy only ever stayed with them because he could blow shit up. Without the shrapnel and light, there's no point in keeping put.

So Tommy steals an image inducer from one of the rookies and catches a ride on the next bus. He doesn't feel guilty about it because the kid looks like a deflated beach ball. Flabby'd get a new one (The Initiative had to be pretty, after all) and Tommy needed to get past the motion sensors somehow.

After a few stops, Tommy gets off and the journey truly begins. Or maybe it ends, since the rest of the cross-country trip occurs in about 5 minutes flat, while the bus ride was at least a half hour. In any case, Tommy ends up standing in front of 5 Chantilly Lane at seven o'clock in the morning. It's a nice day. the birds are chirping sleepily and the dew hasn't melted off the grass yet. It's picturesque. It's beautiful. It's too open. Stark's got eyes everywhere and Tommy doesn't want to be carted back to the desert to become a clubfoot. So he waits and plans.

Mary Shepard wakes to a knocking at the door. It's early yet, and she hasn't finished her morning coffee yet, so she greets the stranger at the door with an embarrassingly rude yawn. Blushing, she asks, "Can I help you, sir?". The young man looks surprised for a moment, then relaxes.

"Uh, actually, ma'am, I'm doing some research for a project. Would you mind answering a few questions for me?"

Mary smiles softly. The young man is handsome in an adorable sort of way. He's dark haired with big brown eyes and a nervous air about him. In a way, he reminds her of how her husband used to be ages ago when the two of them had just been love-struck teenagers. Because of this, she answers "Yes." as she sleepily rubs her eyes.

Tommy grins, although not because he's getting good data. This was going to be the best prank ever. After asking a few trivial questions (Why would _anyone_ care about his grandmother's birthplace?), he moves on to the kicker with a glint in his eye.

"Just a final quick question, ma'am... Do you have any children?"

And she would say, 'Why yes, a son.' and he'd say 'Oh? When did you last see him?' and she'd sigh wistfully and say 'Too long ago.' and then he'd grin and say, 'You sure? 'Cause I'm right here!'. And he'd drop the hologram and his mom would squeal happily and invite him in and they'd catch up on gossip over homemade chocolate-chip pancakes...

But Mary Shepard doesn't answer Tommy's question. Doesn't even act coy about her refusal to answer. Instead she freezes and, with a smile of stone, answers, "No. I've never had any children." And with a chill efficiency she hurries her way through farewell pleasantries and politely, but firmly, shuts the door in Tommy's face.

As Speed, Tommy had possessed everything he had ever wanted (except, maybe a harem). He'd had a family, a function... a future. Now he doesn't even know where 'home' is.

So Tommy does what he's always done best.

He runs.

_please catch me_


	18. Gummy Worms

Prompt: 059. Food  
Word Count: 304  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Tommy doesn't like sour things.  
Author's Note: Set before Stark came and screwed everything up (aka: Pre-Civil War).

Gummy Worms

"Eww, that's really gross, Kate! How can you eat that stuff"

Tommy makes a face and mock gags. In response, Kate sucks the rest of the sour gummy worm into her mouth as if it were a strand of spaghetti. As an afterthought, she sticks her blue tongue out at him.

"Take it like a man, Mr. I-eat-apples-core-and-all."

Tommy scrunches up his nose and whines.

"Hey, I was hungry and forgot to stop chewing! God! What is it with you people!"

With hardly a pause for breath, the speedster's topic abruptly switches back to his original argument.

"So, I mean, sure, candy's great and all, but that's because it's sweet! What's the point of all that sour crap on top?"

Kate smirks. Tommy's brain acts like some sort of deranged elastic band. It's endearing in an annoying-younger-brother sort of way.

"Dunno. It just tastes good."

Just to piss him off, she shrugs and pops another worm into her mouth, letting its tail dangle out the side like a deranged tongue. It's a bright lime green and it wriggles mockingly every time she chews. Offended, Tommy pouts and gears up to say something else, but when he starts to speak, Kate impulsively pulls out a third morsel of candy and pops it into his mouth.

Tommy abruptly closes his jaws with a 'click' and stares at Kate for a long moment with a horrified look on his face. Then he spits the candy out into his hand and starts making disgusted noises.

"Ack, that was the worst- Kate, you suck! I have to go scrape the taste-buds off my tongue now!"

He runs out the door, presumably to get to the bathroom to rinse out his mouth with water. Kate smirks and leans back in her chair, thoughtfully sucking sugar crystals off of her fingers.

_  
we were children once_


	19. Awakening in Unfamiliar Places

Prompt: 025. Strangers  
Word Count: 566  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Tommy wakes up after an ordeal. Semi-sequel to Escape

Awakening in Unfamiliar Places

Walter finds the white-haired kid curled up in the questionable shelter of his back yard. It's a wonder the boy hadn't frozen to death, what with the snow that had been falling for the last half hour, so Walt immediately slings the boy over his shoulder and carries him inside the house. He notices the spandex, but right now, he honestly couldn't care less. He just can't be bothered to be Sasquatch, high-ranking member of Omega Flight. No, right now, he's just Walter Langowski and fuck the rules about army protocols and mutants and goddamned illegal aliens. There's a kid who's clammy and pale and freezing cradled in his arms who needs to get warmed up.

Walter trudges through the snow and doesn't look back.

Tommy woke to warmth, which was odd because he seemed to remember that the last time he was awake, he was actually very, very cold. He frowned, opened his eyes and sat up, ignoring the complaints of his back and neck.

He was in a bed, the sheets were blue, and-

"Okay there big fella, what're you doin' over there?"

Tommy leaned over and shook the large red-haired man who was hunched over in a chair beside the bed, sleeping. Obviously this was the guy who'd saved him from the snow.

_Stupid snow. No wonder Canadians're all crazy if this is all they have to look at._

The burly man grunted when Tommy poked at him and sleepily swatted at the teen's hand.

"Urgh... I'm up, I'm up."

With a mighty yawn, the man straighted and stretched. His spine cracked audibly several times, and Tommy winced.

"Hey, you okay there, man?"

The red-head pulled his glasses out of his pocket and settled them on his nose while blinking blearily.

"I believe I should be asking the same question of you, young man. You were suffering of severe hypothermia when I found you curled up in my backyard."

Tommy ran a hand through his hair, embarassed.

"Well, I know they call Canada the land of ice and snow, but I thought that was an exaggeration or somethin', ya know? Guess I didn't ... dress ..."

Immediately, Tommy remembered exactly what he'd been wearing out in the snow. With a startled yelp, he raised the sheets up, only to discover that he'd been re-dressed in over-sized flannel pajamas.

Tommy looked up, confused. In response, the man shrugged.

"Your clothes were soaked through. I threw them in the wash and re-dressed you in some of my old stuff. How you don't mind..."

A beat.

"Oh, stop giving me that look. I'm not going to report you to the authorities. This is _Canada_ after all. We don't play by the same rules as you Americans do."

The man quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm assuming that you _are_ actually a run-away teenage superhero and not some sort of crazed X-man wannabe?"

"Uh... yeah... something like that..."

Tommy stopped, then hesitantly asked.

"Uh, hey... mister? What's your name?"

The man blinked in surprise.

"Oh, I suppose I haven't told you that yet... Call me ... well, I suppose Walter will do. What's yours, kid?"

"Uh, Tommy... my name's To-"

Tommy's stomach took that moment to gurgle ferociously, causing the whte-haired boy to blush. Damnit, he really hated his mutant metabolism sometimes!

Walter chuckled.

"I take it you're hungry, eh? No problem. You just sit tight and I'll see if I can find anything in the kitchen worth eating... Soup okay with you?"

Tommy nodded and Walter walked out of the room.


	20. His Keeper

Prompt: 049. Club  
Word Count: 187  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Tommy's partying. Eli does not approve.

His Keeper

"C'mon Eli, loosen up a bit! It's time to partay!!"

Tommy yelled over the thumping base beat rumbling through the crowded club's dance floor, trying to get his friend's attention. Eli just grunted and slouched lower on the bar stool.

"Shut up, Tommy. I'm only here because Kate made me come."

Tommy giggled, his voice several tones higher than normal due to his state of inebriation.

"Aw, see? Kate agrees with me! You need ta pull that stick outta your ass and get out on that dance floor!"

Eli rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger as he took a deep breath.

"No, Tommy, Kate made me come because the _last_ time you went out without a keeper, we found you lying on our front doorstep wearing a thong on your head. The time before _that_ you ended up blowing up some guy's car."

"Dude, that was an accident! You're just being a worrywart!"

Eli rolled his eyes and grumbled a "Yeah. Sure. Whatever.", but Tommy had already been pulled back into the throng of grinding, dancing twenty-somethings. Eli checked his watch.

"Only 12:30. Crap."

It was going to be a long night.


	21. One Way Out

Prompt: 088. School.  
Word Count: 444  
Rating: PG  
Summary: A night in the life of Tommy Shepherd, ex-Young Avenger.

One Way Out

Now that Registration's in full effect, Tommy's all alone again. He misses the others. Sure, there's phone calls and stuff, but talking over webcam's not the same as fighting and playing and laughing together.

So he's bored.

No seriously, he's really really really bored in that sort of kind of bored that means that you're ready to do just about anything like chewing your nails and washing the dishes and considering dying your hair if only you've have something to do that'd keep you from sitting around in your room worrying the bedsheets into smoking threadbare bits and oh geez, mom's not gonna be happy about that.

She just washed those.

Tommy's gonna be doing his own laundry for the next month.

He decides that maybe she'll be a little nicer about giving him new sheets if he's finished all his homework first, so he does it (it's easy when your brain works super-fast, although the real trick is not to burn out the computer when you're speed-typing), only to realize that he doesn't know a thing about the Eiffel Tower. And he forgot his History textbook at school.

He's totally not allowed to phase into school to get his book back, even if it's only to finish his homework, because that's technically called "breaking and entering" and the government'd be upset (not that they'd have anything left of him to lock up after Kate tore him a shiny new asshole). Obviously, it's time for desperate measures.

It's time to go to the library.

Tommy brushes his hair and packs his homework in his bag and dresses in his battle gear (a sweatshirt and trackpants and his old worn-in sneakers that fit nice and are dirty enough that no one notices the fact that the bottoms are practically melted from friction burn) and he's half-way out the door before he realizes that he's forgotten a vital fact.

Only the library's closed around these parts because it's 6 PM on Sunday, and libraries close at 5.

Well shit.

But Tommy's not ready to resign himself to another demerit point at school and a whole month of laundry. He plots a bit (the little Eli in his head is muttering that it's _strategizing_, because plotting's for bad guys. Litle Eli promptly gets a wedgie and a swirlie) and then he figures out what he's gotta do.

Tommy spends the next hour in a quaint little library in SoCal, one which is a couple timezones over and thus, still open. The librarian wonders about the vulpine grin on his face, but decides that since he's being quiet and not burning the pages of his book on France facts, she'll leave him alone to his homework.


	22. Purify

Prompt: 052. Fire.  
Word Count: 353  
Rating: PG  
Summary: For a certain speedster, the immediate events of post-Secret Invasion might go like this.

Purify

This is awful.

I'm staggering home, filthy, tired, sick to my stomach and exhausted. I'm just run into the ground, y'know? Fighting at super-speed for hours without having had anything to eat since breakfast this morning sorta does that to ya. I just wanna curl up on the side of the road and pass out, but I'm completely _covered_ in Skrull and mud and it smells so bad that I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. Not with the reek of rot and decay clogging up my nose. It's cloying and sick-sweet like puke, but it's got this sharp alien after-taste that sticks to the back of my throat like cigar smoke. Make me gag if I don't remember to breathe through my mouth.

Yeah, it sucks balls, I gotta tell you... y'know what? Fuckit. I'm never gonna be able to wear this uniform again anyway.

I just gotta speed up to the right level, focus and get past the burning in my legs. Okay Tommy, think about pretty things like unicorns and rainbows and cheeseburgers, mmm, maybe not because then my stomach starts growling, but just gotta hit that sweet spot where everything starts to glow and crackle and the air's burning past my skin and my breath is about to burn out of my lungs-

~

Anyone watching Tommy speed past would see a glowing streak of light flashing by, melting from green to white to black. When Tommy finally skids to a stop, his costume has been reduced to little more than a few streaks of ash. His feet are bloodied and the plastic of his goggles is sorta soft and melty and the tips of his hair are slightly singed and crispy. He's going to need a haircut when he gets home.

But even though he's alone and panting and naked as the day he was born, Tommy's grinning like a maniac.

He's clean.

"Woo."

Now all he's gotta do is figure out how to get home, seeing as how he's still miles away and completely exhausted... and naked too, but that might work in his favour.

"All I've gotta do is find a nice fangirl..."


	23. Funny Words

Prompt: 024. Family.  
Word Count: 300  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Billy is trying to study and Tommy is being annoying.

Funny Words

Tommy hummed to himself. He was splayed across Billy's bed and gazing up at the ceiling as Billy tried to do his homework. Billy would have kicked him out, only he'd learned a while ago that trying to get rid of Tommy was somewhat like trying to get rid of a particularly affectionate cat. The harder you tried to pry him off, the more stubbornly he clung to you. The best solution, then, was to wait him out. Eventually he'd get bored and wander off to find other things to do.

Although today, his twin was being particularly obstinate.

_Okay, forget about him and just concentrate. Right. Tangents._

"Poodle."

Billy blinked and almost turned over to look at Tommy. At the last minute, he remembered his "ignore him" scheme, and managed the turn the movement into a wide stretch-and-yawn maneuver.

"Poodle. Poodle poodle poodle poodle."

Tommy didn't notice.

"Poooooooooooood-"

"Tommy what the hell are you doing?"

Tommy looked over, grinning.

"Poodle! It's a really funny word, isn't it?"

Billy raised an eyebrow.

"Uh-huh."

"No, seriously! Say it!"

Tommy waved his hands animatedly and Billy sighed. He'd already undone a half-hour's worth of ignoring-Tommy-ness, so he may as well.

"Poodle."

Tommy looked at him expectantly.

"See?"

"Poodle. Huh. "

"Isn't it crazy?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean. Wonder why?"

Billy tapped at his lip thoughtfully and Tommy just smirked.

"'Cause it's got the word 'poo' in it. Duh."

"Tommy, you're a five-year-old trapped in a teenager's body."

"Shut up! Think about it!"

Billy rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm trying to study."

Tommy sighed and fidgetted. Great, now all of that time he'd spent getting Billy to relax around him was out the window.

"Look, are you actually getting anything done?"

"With you lying there watching my every move?"

Billy paused, then groaned.

"Not really."

"Wanna go hang out at the arcade?"

"... fine. But you're buying me a burger, moron."

Tommy grinned. Plan "Brotherly-Bonding-Time" was a go.

"Awesome! C'mon, there's not a moment to lose!"


	24. Before the Dawn

Prompt: 003. Ends  
Word Count: 478  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Tommy thinks the world is over. Kate refuses to believe him.

Before the Dawn

Getting hit by falling rubble didn't hurt nearly as much as he'd thought it would have.

That was the only thing Tommy could focus on as he lay on the ground and, strangely, it didn't worry him too much. He couldn't muster the concentration or the energy to worry about going into shock. Instead, a listless seeping cold was creeping into his body and he was feeling strangely detached from the world.

"Damnit Speed! Why do you always get into this kind of situation?"

Kate was tearing at the rubble on top of him, clawing at it as if pulling it away would somehow fix things. Tommy squinted up at her, then called out.

"Hawkeye, stop wasting your energy. It's not gonna do anything."

Kate paused for the barest of moments in order to glare at Tommy with a ferocity that even her opaque glasses couldn't mask.

"Oh no, don't you dare! You stupid idiot! Don't you _dare_ give up on me!"

Tommy coughed and looked away.

"I'm not giving up here, oh fearless leader. I'm just pretty sure I'm not walking away from this one...."

He trailed off, then managed a weak smile.

"Kate, I can't feel my legs. "

Kate let out a strangled cry and dropped to her knees, kneeling by Tommy's head.

"No. No that can't be true. That wasn't a funny joke, Tommy. It- This isn't funny at all."

Her voice was hoarse and angry as she hissed at him, but Tommy could see a glint in her eyes. She knew he was telling the truth, even though she denied it. He shrugged and patted her knee, making light of the situation as he was wont to do when things went bad.

"Hey, don't get all worked up! It'll be okay! I mean, Patriot's off getting the others and he'll be back to save the day because he doesn't know how to do anything else. And anyway, you're here with me. Right?"

Kate ran her fingers through Tommy's hair, brushing his bangs off of his face.

"Not that my being here did you any good, Tommy. God, I'm so sorry."

They both pretended to ignore the quaver in her voice. Tommy reached up to cup Kate's hand in his own.

"Heh. You know... I've heard that the best way to go is while being kissed by a beautiful woman."

Kate's laugh was more hysterical than mirthful, but it _was_ a laugh. Carefully, she leaned over and brought her face closer to Tommy's. Her breath was warm on his skin.

"Then you'll get the best send off I can manage."

Her lips brushed his forehead.

"But you're not leaving yet, moron."

Tommy squawked.

"Hey!"

"What, you thought I was just going to give up on you?"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Fat chance. Now stop distracting me! These rocks are coming off even if it takes me forever!"

Tommy held his hands up in defeat, smiling in spite of himself as Kate pushed off from the ground.

"You win, Hawkeye!"

"I always do."


	25. Nothing Left Unsaid

Prompt: 077. What?  
Word Count: 175  
Rating: PG  
Summary: Conversation!fic about Tommy's cooking skills in that far off future AU that assumes that Tommy and Kate are dating.

Nothing Left Unsaid

"You cooked this yourself? Seriously?"

"Don't look so surprised! I mean, I've been living alone for ages now-"

"And your trash is constantly filled with pizza boxes and take-out containers."

"Well, yeah, but I _did_ have to cook ever now and then."

"Uh-huh."

"Really!"

"Says the guy whose cupboards were full of ramen noodles and Kraft dinner."

"Well, okay, so maybe I freaked out a bit when I was looking for oregano in the bakery aisle..."

"Hah! I knew it!"

"How was I supposed to know that it was a spice and not some kind of freaky flour thing?"

"You're _hopeless_!"

"Hey! I already got laughed at by the freaking _stock_ boy! My self-esteem's already hit rock bottom."

"Aw, poor baby. I'll kiss it better."

"See, now _that's_ more like it."

"Don't get used to it. I'm just buttering you up so that you'l cook me more food later."

"Oh! My heart! I'm wounded to the core!"

"Yeah right. You're such a dork!"

"And you love me anyway!"

"Unfortunately. You're strangely addictive."

"Yeah, well, I'm _Speed_."

"... that was a really bad pun."

"Sorry. You should find a different way to keep my mouth occupied then."

"Oh, I think I can manage to do that."

"Mrgl!"

"Shut up and eat your dinner, dork."

"You're such a bitch!"

"And you love me anyway!"

"... you win."

"Of course."


End file.
